Updated

06/11/2015 - 10:30am

Belgium has just minted a special euro coin. The denomination? 2.5 euros. But that's not the part that's got France in a fit. It's the fact that the coin depicts France's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

One of the world's biggest dog shows is reeling after a top contender died — possibly poisoned. The owners of a three-year-old Irish setter named Jagger believe their dog was murdered with poisoned food after competing at the Crufts dog show.

The hunt for suspected Islamist militants continues across western Europe as EU ministers meet in Brussels to coordinate responses to the violence in France and Belgium. And Belgian troops, deployed on the city's streets, have been authorized to use deadly force.

We have a roundup of the recent security response in Western Europe to threats of terrorism. The response includes the arrest of dozens of suspected Islamic militants in Belgium, Germany and France. Two suspects died in a firefight with police in eastern Belgium.

The attacks in Paris last week were carried out with automatic weapons, including a variant of the AK47. These kinds of weapons are very difficult to obtain legally anywhere in the European Union, which has led many to wonder where the accused attackers got their weapons.

You've probably never heard of featherbowling, even if you're from Belgium, the country where the now-obscure sport originated. But in Detroit, a league of die-hard featherbowlers keeps the tradition alive.

One of The World's audio engineers, Jane Pipik, didn’t know a whole lot about her Great Uncle Frank growing up. He died just at the end of World War I, but she never knew of his heroism — until a retired Belgian military officer took it upon himself to find her family.

One of the world's biggest dog shows is reeling after a top contender died — possibly poisoned. The owners of a three-year-old Irish setter named Jagger believe their dog was murdered with poisoned food after competing at the Crufts dog show.

Updated

06/11/2015 - 10:30am

Belgium has just minted a special euro coin. The denomination? 2.5 euros. But that's not the part that's got France in a fit. It's the fact that the coin depicts France's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The US may be #1 in some areas, but it's topped in at least one by tiny Belgium. Belgium may hold the record, at least for developed countries, for days without a government - at 589 days. And, that seems to work pretty well... for Belgians.

Belgian Adolphe Sax invented a number of musical instruments, though none has had quite the impact of the saxophone. When a listener to PRI's The World asked us to dive into Sax's story, Clark Boyd took the challenge.

Updated

06/11/2015 - 10:30am

Belgium has just minted a special euro coin. The denomination? 2.5 euros. But that's not the part that's got France in a fit. It's the fact that the coin depicts France's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

You've probably never heard of featherbowling, even if you're from Belgium, the country where the now-obscure sport originated. But in Detroit, a league of die-hard featherbowlers keeps the tradition alive.

The US may be #1 in some areas, but it's topped in at least one by tiny Belgium. Belgium may hold the record, at least for developed countries, for days without a government - at 589 days. And, that seems to work pretty well... for Belgians.

Belgian Adolphe Sax invented a number of musical instruments, though none has had quite the impact of the saxophone. When a listener to PRI's The World asked us to dive into Sax's story, Clark Boyd took the challenge.

One of the world's biggest dog shows is reeling after a top contender died — possibly poisoned. The owners of a three-year-old Irish setter named Jagger believe their dog was murdered with poisoned food after competing at the Crufts dog show.

One of The World's audio engineers, Jane Pipik, didn’t know a whole lot about her Great Uncle Frank growing up. He died just at the end of World War I, but she never knew of his heroism — until a retired Belgian military officer took it upon himself to find her family.

Belgium is in a class by itself when it comes to chocolate, fries and beer. But the tiny country's unique contributions to global culture don't stop there. Just ask Brussels-based artist David Helbich, who has spent the past few years documenting all the deliciously surreal, absurdly poetic ways the Belgians manage to solve their everyday problems.